the good history essay (1 Viewer)

[hatty]

hey all

does anyone have n e good tips to go well in a history essay?
like including quotes and stuff like that
because im having a bit of trouble writing essays that can me in the top marks range,
and if you have n e good history essays on germany or WWI please send them to me, so i can structure it that way.

thanks alot

 

[Jennibeans]

we've only done source analysis tasks so far so i cant send you any essays but the main bits of advice i can give you beyond the basic essay structure are
- make sure you answer the question
- pay attention to any dates specified in the question and make sure your info is relevant to the time period given
- include historiography!!!!

hope that helps a bit

 

[Loz#1]

You'll always capture the readers attention in the introduction.

 

[scut]

Originally posted by Loz#1
You'll always capture the readers attention in the introduction.

Yeah your intro is sooo important, You've got to interest the marker and try make it interesting/readable. The marker does not want to read a bland old intro, my teacher always said that a concise, thorough and "interesting/bright" introduction is a must for a good essay.
For WWI, you really don't need quotes (for the HSC exam anyway), but for the other modules, a short sharp quotes from a historian or an important figure/person from your topic (eg Stalin, Hitler) is always helpful for re-inforcing your points, and also shows the marker you've been researching + shows them you are knowledgeable. Also throw in statistics, (eg. in 1931 15% of all Russian peasants were thrown into labour camps) to further re-inforce your points
There are various approaches to writing an essay, but ask some of the more experienced history teachers at your school for advice on how to structure your essays.

 

[Jennibeans]

Originally posted by scut
For WWI, you really don't need quotes (for the HSC exam anyway),

Be careful
We did a practice source analyis task on ww1 and in question 2 (you know the one that says use these sources & your own knowledge) i got an 8 out of 10. The comment on the bottom said that to get anything higher I needed to include 2 or 3 historians. So don't dismiss historiography if you want the band 6

 

[Ziff]

What school do you go to? At my school the teacher doesn't say it's needed in WWI (she's a marker)... I'll confirm that though on Monday.

 

[Loz#1]

Yeah, we never needed quotes for WWI. All that stuff is in the sources.

 

[Ziff]

But you should quote or follow closely the source they do give you...

 

[Loz#1]

Originally posted by Ziff
But you should quote or follow closely the source they do give you...

Yeah, I meamnt to wrte tht but yeah.

 

[scut]

Originally posted by Jennibeans
Be careful
We did a practice source analyis task on ww1 and in question 2 (you know the one that says use these sources & your own knowledge) i got an 8 out of 10. The comment on the bottom said that to get anything higher I needed to include 2 or 3 historians. So don't dismiss historiography if you want the band 6

Well that must've been just the criteria for your school's assessment. I'm pretty sure you don't need to include historiography for the WW1 question. The question where it asks you to use the sources and your own knowledge is only worth 10 marks, It is a bit much to expect someone to include historiography in a question worth 10 marks, and where they only allocate 2 pages of writing space (of course you can write extra). I'd check with your teacher to see what they say is expected in the WW1 question. My teacher specifically told us there is no need to include quotes (ie historiography) in the WW1 section, although if you were able to quote a historian it'd definately show the marker you are very knowledgeable. But you would get marked down for failing to include historiography.

 

[MissSavage29]

arguments always go down well with my teacher. Find historians that argue over the point adn show the two different approches.